How to Forward a Single Email in Gmail

Forwarding a single email from a conversation thread in Gmail can be tricky, but is possible with a few simple steps. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about forwarding individual messages from conversation threads in Gmail.

Why Forwarding Single Emails in Gmail is Challenging

Gmail groups related messages into conversations by default. This conversation view stitches together all replies under one thread with the same subject line.

While conversation view makes following discussion threads easier, it can make forwarding a single message from that thread more difficult. When you go to forward the conversation, Gmail will include the entire back-and-forth by default.

How to Forward a Single Message from a Gmail Thread

Fortunately, Gmail allows you to expand conversation threads in order to target just one message to forward. Here are the steps:

1. Open the Gmail conversation containing the message you want to forward.
2. Scroll down and click the down arrow next to the message you want to forward to expand it. This will reveal just that single message.
3. Click the three-dot More menu in the top right.
4. Choose Forward from the drop-down menu.
5. The forward window will open with just that individual message selected to send.
6. Enter the recipient’s email address and edit the content as needed.
7. Click Send.

This will forward just that single message to the recipient instead of the entire back-and-forth conversation.

Alternative: Turn Off Conversation View

If targeting single messages in threads to forward is too cumbersome, you can simply disable conversation view entirely:

1. Click the Settings gear icon at the top right.
2. Scroll down and uncheck Conversation View under Email Threading.

With conversation view turned off, Gmail will display all messages separately as if they were individual emails. You can then easily open any message and forward it independently without having to target it from an expanded thread.

The downside to this method is that related messages won’t be grouped together in threads, making following conversations more difficult. But forwarding individual emails will be much simpler.

How to Forward the Latest Message in a Thread

If you want to quickly forward the most recent message in a conversation thread, there is a shortcut to do so:

1. Open the conversation thread.
2. Click the three-dot More menu.
3. Select Forward latest message.

This will automatically forward just the newest email in the thread without having to expand and target it manually.

Forward Multiple Messages as Attachments

Gmail also gives you the option to forward multiple messages together as attachments:

1. Check the boxes next to each message you want to forward.
2. Click the three-dot More menu at the top.
3. Choose Forward as attachment.

This bundles the selected messages together into one email with the messages included as attachments for the recipient to view.

Set Up Automatic Forwarding with Filters

You can also use Gmail filters to automatically forward incoming messages matching certain criteria. For example, set up a filter to forward emails from a specific sender or with a particular phrase in the subject line.

Here are the basic steps to create an automatic forwarding filter:

1. Click the Settings gear > See all settings
2. Go to the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab
3. Click Create a new filter
4. Enter filter criteria
5. Check Forward it to and select forwarding address
6. Click Create filter

Messages matching your filter rules will now automatically forward to the designated email address. Just be aware that filters apply only to newly received messages, not existing conversations.

Best Practices When Forwarding Email

Keep these additional tips in mind when forwarding messages:

• Double check recipients before clicking send to avoid mistakes
• Clean up message chains by removing previous replies not relevant to the recipient
• Add your own text to provide context as needed to introduce the forwarded content
• Ensure you have permission to forward messages containing sensitive information or attachments
• Blind copy (BCC) recipients if forwarding mailing list messages to avoid exposing email addresses

Can Original Senders See Forwarded Messages?

No, forwarding emails in Gmail does not notify the original sender or list if you forward messages. However, recipients of your forwarded messages will be able to see the full header details showing the originating sender and thread history.

If privacy is a concern, manually copy and paste content into a new email instead of forwarding. This will decouple it from the original message header.

Forwarding Individual Messages with Other Email Providers

The above instructions apply specifically to Gmail, but you can also forward individual emails from conversation threads in other major email providers:

Outlook.com: Open the message from the thread and use the forward arrow icon in the top-right corner.

Apple Mail: Enable conversation view in settings, expand the thread, then right-click the message and choose Forward.

Microsoft Outlook: Enable conversation grouping, open the thread, right click the message, and select Forward.

So while forwarding single emails in threaded conversations takes a few extra clicks, it is generally possible across all major email platforms, including both webmail and desktop applications.

Summary

Forwarding individual messages without pulling in the entire conversation thread is achievable in Gmail, but does require manually targeting messages in expanded threads or disabling conversation view.

Set up filters for automated forwarding based on senders or keywords, and leverage shortcuts to quickly forward the latest message. Following these tips will make it easier to selectively forward relevant content from Gmail threads.